Yair Neuman is creating frames from recycled lenses
London-based product designer Yair Neuman has created a line of frames in DELEREX™ – a material made from waste lenses he collects from opticians and glazing labs. “I always wanted to use the material to make frames, he told Eyestylist. “After a period of creating other design objects from the material I was able to adapt it to frame-making and the results are very pleasing. I now make dedicated DELEREX™ slabs for frame cutting and process them using a combination of traditional and non-traditional manufacturing methods. All my frames are made by hand in London.”
First launched as a mini collection produced in collaboration with Cubitts in London last winter (2020)., Neuman set about designing and developing more styles and tweaked the production processes on the way. Now the frames are stocked by leading boutiques including Gogosha in Los Angeles. According to the designer, Julia Gogosha understood the aim of the project immediately.
Sustainability is one of the core principles of Neuman’s work in general. “Working with recycled waste rather than using virgin material is pretty obvious to me,” he explained. “I am not going to compete with acetate on practical terms – the other values of DELEREX™ are more important in this project, even if the optician needs to work a little harder to adjust it. My target here was to create something beautiful in its own right. DELEREX™ has the most magnificent depth and sheen, it is something between mother of pearl and marble.”
Neuman studied design in The Netherlands (Design Academy) and in London (Ravensbourne) and first became involved in eyewear design at Ron Arad’s pq Eyewear. He has since worked in Zimbabwe where he started a social project combining local craft with 3D printed parts to produce frames with zero waste. He then founded Wires Glasses producing innovative hingeless folding metal frames. In 2019, the first project featuring DELEREX™ was launched with Cubitts. “We have been occasionally collaborating on design, production and my DELEREX™ range ever since,” he adds. For more products created by Yair Neuman visit https://www.eyestylist.com/2021/02/recycled-plano-lenses-for-design-lens-light-heads/ This feature was written by Clodagh Norton at Eyestylist.com – all rights reserved.